Life

“Say [O Muhammad to thy people]: If you loveth God, then follow me, God will love thee” - The Holy Qur'an

O Muhammad whose praise is sung by the Lord,
As by His angels and, too, servants on earth,
I need thy succor to achieve this arduous task,
Of describing, however humbly, the contours of a life
Which remains forever the model of perfection,
Revealing in all its nobility and beauty
What it means to be truly human! - Traditional Poem

The Prophet Muhammad was a man but unlike other men. As a witness to his eminence stands his extraordinary life – a life that saw mercy through affliction, and joy through loss, until his last breath in this earthly abode. Wondrous it is that he was born into a world that had grown dark with idolatry, greed and self-gratification; and that when he departed from it, men and women believed in the One God, loved Him, and loved one another for his sake. It is no wonder then, that today we love this man who was unlike other men, humbly seeking to emulate his great virtues and to learn from the story of his blessed life. May the Blessings and Peace of God be upon him.

Muhammad was born in the city of Makkah in the year 570 C.E. Makkah at the time was a major commercial and religious center for the Arabs, who are descendant from Abraham through his son Ishmael. The monotheism of Abraham, however, had been forgotten and the shrine built by him, the Ka’bah, had become a house of idolatry. The Arabs had fallen into the "age of ignorance" (jahiliya). During this dark period the society was rife with many immoral practices such as the burying infant daughters alive, treating women as property and taking advantage of the poor and helpless.

Muhammad was born into the noblest tribe of Arabia, that of Quraysh in the clan Banu Hashim, but his parents, Abdullah and Amina, were of poor and humble means. His respected father died before he was born, and he was to enjoy the warm embrace of his mother for the last time when she died before his eighth birthday. With no parents remaining, he was placed into the care of his grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib. From the very beginning, he exhibited a perfection of virtue. He never practiced the idolatry of his people, but rather adhered to the primordial monotheistic tradition of his forefather Abraham. As a result of his upright character and deep wisdom he grew to be a highly respected member of Makkan society. He soon earned the name of al-Amin, or the ‘trustworthy’, for everyone knew that Muhammad would only speak and practice the truth.

At the age of twenty-five, he married Khadijah, a wealthy businesswoman and widow fifteen years his senior. She was greatly impressed with his character and proposed to him. She trusted him to take charge of her trade caravans. He loved her very much and until her death, never married another woman. Even after she passed, he continued to speak affectionately about her and missed her companionship.

A gentle and contemplative man, he was deeply disturbed by the practices of the society around him. It was his practice to spend long periods of time contemplating in the cave of al-Hira on the outskirts of Makkah. In his fortieth year, in one of his spiritual retreats, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him with the first verses of the Revelation of what would be the Holy Quran.

“Read!” the angel said commanded.
“I cannot read” replied the startled Muhammad, who was illiterate. The angel asked again and again, Muhammad replied the same. Finally, Gabriel said,
“Read in the name of thy Lord who created humanity from a clot! Read and your Lord is the most Generous!” (Quran 96: 1-3)

This momentous experience marked the beginning of his prophecy and mission. Muhammad returned home shaking and related the experience to Khadijah, herself a very righteous and spiritual soul. She gently wrapped him with a blanket, and having intimate knowledge of his deep spiritual nature and pure heart, her response was quick and firm. She told him that 'By God, God, will never disgrace you! You foster family relations; you bear the burden of the weak; you help the poor and the needy; you entertain the guests and endure hardships in the path of truthfulness'. She further went on to suggest they consult her cousin, Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, a pious Christian ascetic and scholar. They went to Waraqa and Muhammad related what happened in the cave. Waraqa said ‘You are the prophet of the final age. You are this nation's prophet. You have been visited by the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom God had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out. Your people will disbelieve in you, hurt you, beat you, fight you and expel you.’ The words, which all proved to be true, no doubt shocked the gentle Muhammad, who was now the final prophet of God sent to all creation. Like all other prophets of God, from Noah, to Abraham to Moses to Jesus, he would face many of the same trials.

The first to follow his message were his wife, Khadijah, and his cousin Ali. Soon others accepted his call to worship One God, and live equitably with each other. The Makkans had great importance in the Arabian trade routes as a result of the Kaaba housing the most important idols in the peninsula. The success of his enlightened message began to be seen as a threat to the religious and commercial power of the Makkans. The Makkans reacted brutually, many of his followers were tortured and killed. Eventually, the Makkans placed a ban on his clan and all of his followers, the Hashimids, forbidding trade and marriage with any of them.

In 619 C.E., during these difficult times, Khadijah, his beloved wife of 25 years and first to belive in his message (Muslims regard her as one of the women of heaven, as was Mary mother of Jesus) passed away. He also lost his supporting uncle Abu Talib that year. Muhammad and his followers were often without food or water, at times eating the leaves of trees for sustenance. He attempted to take his message to other neighboring cities in hopes they would respond with civility. In one town, Taif, the inhabitants came out to stone him and he had to flee as the blood streamed from his feet. Yet, such was his faith in God that he never once wavered from the Divine mission with which he was entrusted, he always kept his hope and trust in God. It was at this point that Muhammad was to recieve glad tiding of an entire city entering into the fold of Islam.

A delegation from a town called Yathrib had accepted Muhammad’s message as the truth and invited him to migrate to their city. The tribes in Yathrib had been warring for generations and they saw in the messenger and his message a path to establishing a peaceful society. The prophet accepted their invitation and made plans to leave. In the meantime, the Makkans were conspiring to have him assassinated. The Prophet, always under the protection of his Lord, fled Makkah with his close friend, Abu Bakr under darkness of night towards Yathrib, which was henceforth called the City of the Prophet, Madinat al-Nabi or simply Madinah. As he approached his new home, the fortunate inhabitants of Madinah who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival came to greet him with a song that is to this day performed all over the world, talal badru alayna: “As the white moon rose over us, from the valley of Wida’, we owe it to show gratefulness, for the Prophet of Allah…”

The new community was not to be left alone however. The idolaters attacked the Muslims several times but miraculously the outwardly weaker and outnumbered Muslims emerged victorious. The city of Madinah became a beacon of light for the rest of Arabia, and indeed the world. Here the Prophet established a society wherein piety and prayer, love and contemplation, sacrifice and service were instilled into young and old, men and women.

As tribes from all over Arabia voluntarily accepted the message of the Prophet, the Makkans grew weaker and weaker. In 630 C.E., after the Makkahns broke a truce by attacking unarmed Muslims, the Prophet marched into Makkah victoriously, and without shedding a drop of blood, forgave all his enemies who had previously fought him, denied him sustenance, and drove him from his home. The Prophet showed once again that God had sent him as a Mercy to all mankind. After entering Makkah and cleansing the Ka’bah of its idols, restoring finally the religion of Abraham to its original purity, the Prophet returned to Madinah, the city that had welcomed him in his time of need. Ten years after he migrated to Madinah, the Prophet performed his last pilgrimage to Makkah.

He fell ill in Madinah shortly after returning and died in the Islamic month of Rabi’ al-Awwal. The Prophet of God is buried in his humble apartment adjacent to his mosque in Madinah. Throughout his life and after his death, Muslims have sent and continue to send prayers and peace upon Muhammad.

May the Blessings and Peace of God be upon thee, Beloved of God…